


War is Come

by Diary



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Season/Series 06, Bechdel Test Fail, Brother-Sister Relationships, Canon Character of Color, Canon Gay Character, Dark Character, Episode AU: s06e12 Raw Talent, Established Corey Bryant/Mason Hewitt, Established Relationship, Families of Choice, Interracial Relationship, Interspecies Romance, Late Night Conversations, Liam Dunbar & Mason Hewitt Friendship, Love, Morally Ambiguous Character, POV Male Character, POV Multiple, Post-Season/Series 05 AU, Romance, Warning: Gerard Argent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-26 17:06:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12063366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: An AU look at Raw Talent and the aftermath. Complete.





	War is Come

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Teen Wolf.

As soon as the woman stumbled, Brett was in his car. Locking the doors, he dialled 911 and started driving as fast as he could towards the police station.

…

From her jail cell, Tamora Monore stared coldly at Sheriff Stilinski, and he remembered the terrified woman he’d held hands with. She’d been strong, he’d known, and he’d thanked God for it. She’d listened intently, she’d made some tentative jokes, and he’d believed she would be okay.

He shouldn’t have lied, he saw now, but even recognising this- she’d attacked a seventeen-year-old kid.

So had Chris Argent, popped into his head. So had Allison, even. Scott and Malia didn’t always have control during the full moon, and they could have been serious threats to human life. Poor Mason had had his body used to kill completely against his knowledge and will.

And now, he had a woman in a cell who’d been attacked by a literal monster, decided to channel her energies into protecting human lives in response, and hadn’t been properly Mirandized. It’d be easy as hell for her to attack him for unlawful arrest in a court of law, and the fact she had been demanding access to a phone and a lawyer for the last hour-

Brett Talbot didn’t have a scratch on him. Even if there were cameras in the school parking lot, the image of Brett healing and, then, clawing at a woman- it’d likely make any jury more sympathetic to her preemptive attack. It’d put the innocent supernatural in even more danger.

…

In the woods, Liam watched the vans being packed.

Nearby, Deputy Parrish sat in his police van.

“You’re running,” Liam demanded.

Brett scoffed. “We’re making a tactical retreat. Something bad is coming, Liam. We’ve all been feeling it, but now, we know for sure.”

Coming up, Lori took her brother’s hand. “You and the others could come,” she offered. “Once we’re safe, Satomi’s going to come back. She’s going to try to help everyone else who wants to leave. But there’s enough room right now for you and the others.”

“Not much, really,” Brett said, “but seeing as how some of you have literally saved my life before and that we only have these vans because of Argent, I could suffer through a van ride squished on the floor with Lori in my lap.”

“You’re running like a coward,” Liam flatly declared.

Lori started to say something, but Brett put a hand on her shoulder. “Go talk to Deputy Parrish. No listening in.”

Giving Brett a mildly dirty look, Lori stomped over to the police van.

“You’ve been afraid, too,” Brett said. “You’ve sat things out because of it. There have been times you couldn’t even play a game of lacrosse.”

“Yeah, you’re right. And I remember what you did. How you knocked me down, asked me if I was hurt and still alive, and told me to get up.”

Slumping slightly, Brett quietly said, “Maybe I should have been more sympathetic to you. Look, Liam- Lori is the only thing I have left. I have Satomi and the rest of our pack. I have friends. I have a lot of things, but if I lost all of them, if I lost everything, as long as my sister was still okay-”

“I get you wanting to protect her. Keep her out of danger. But there’s always going to be hunters. There’s always going to be threats that go after werewolves and humans both.”

“It wasn’t a hunter who killed my family,” Brett said. “My parents didn’t have much money. They rented a cheap house, and I used to be so annoyed that I had to share my room with Lori. It turned out, the house had faulty wiring. One night, I was at a sleepover. The house burned while I was there. And I didn’t know it at the time, but a hunter was on the local police force.”

“He’s the one who found Lori growling, essentially feral, underneath the charred bed our parents' dead bodies were on. He knocked her out with a Taser, covered her up in his jacket, and carried her out. He brought her over to my friend’s house, put her in my arms, and then, took us for ice-cream. He explained what happened, and he looked out for us until Satomi came. He’s the one who contacted her.”

“You know better than most that I’m not always great at following Satomi’s teachings. But Lori is, and she’s my baby sister. If I start fighting, she will, too. I don’t want her to change, and worse, I don’t want her dying. Maybe there’s nowhere we’ll ever be completely safe, but there are places that are much safer than here. Call me a coward if you want. I’m not going to call you a suicidal idiot operating on I.E.D., because, I do understand that Scott and the rest of your pack- this is something you need to do for them. And I genuinely wish you and them luck.”

Liam sighed.

Coming over, Satomi touched Brett's hand. “It’s time to go. I think Lori might be riding with the deputy.”

Laughing, Brett went over to the police van.

“Scott needs help,” Liam told Satomi.

Giving him a sad look, she nodded. “In some ways, you’re older than your years. Yet, in other ways, you are still so young. The regretful things you’ve done, none of them are anywhere near as bad as what I’ve done. It’s not a Buddhist concept, but it’s one I know to be true: Some things are beyond redemption, Liam. You can never make up for them. You can never wipe away the hurt you’ve inflicted or give back that that you’ve taken. Whether I should say this or not, the only reason a person has for trying is primarily self-interest. Because they can’t live with who they’ve become without trying, even if they know it’s pointless.”

She gestured towards her pack. “Some of these wolves have done things they can never be redeemed for. Some of them, they have a chance. And some of them are innocent. I need to protect the innocent from harm, help the ones with a chance try to fulfil it, and ensure those beyond redemption don’t cause any more harm in this world.

“In the end, if we are to die at the hands of hunters or worse, we’ll die ourselves, or we’ll die the monsters we’ve been called. I hope your Scott wins. I hope you and the others are still standing, and I hope it’s as people you can be proud of. But his way isn’t ours.”

Closing his eyes for a long moment, Liam nodded.

She touched his cheek. “Remember: Three things cannot long be hidden.”

“The sun, the moon, and the truth,” he supplied.

“The truth is powerful and can be unforgiving. I don’t know what supernatural threats you might soon face, but these hunters, they aren’t going to be able to avoid the truth forever. One of them attacked a teenaged boy simply due to the fact, by her own words, she believed him undeserving of his power. It terrifies her. It, we, the power we possess, what we are but not necessarily what we do, terrifies many of them. Some of these hunters, they’ll have no issue with being monsters, but some of them, there is a chance, if you can get them to see.”

She hesitated. “If it comes down to fighting a war, if you make that choice, commit fully, Liam Dunbar. In the end, you can’t control what your friends do, whether they live or die, but you can choose life for yourself.”

“You fight to win, not to live,” he replied.

“Sometimes, living is the best way of winning. Goodbye.”

“Bye,” he quietly said.

He watched her go over to Brett and Lori, and making a decision, he followed. “Brett.” Holding his hand out, he said, “This time, just shake my hand. ‘Cause, this time, I really do mean it: Good luck.”

Smiling slightly, Brett shook his hand, and then, he reached over and put his hand on the back of Liam’s neck. “Sorry. I know I played my part in things. So, sorry.”

“It’s okay. Take care of your sister and the rest of them.” Looking at Lori, he added, “I know you love your brother, but he can be mean and an idiot, sometimes. Keep him in line.”

Lori squeezed Liam's hand. “Scott’s nice, but he can make bad decisions, sometimes. Try to do the same for him.”

Squeezing Liam’s neck, Brett let go and took his sister’s hand. “See you again, Liam.”

“See you again.”

Everyone got into their vans, and Parrish said, “Come on.”

Liam looked over.

“You don’t think I’m going to leave you all alone out here, do you? After they’re out of town, I’ll take you back to the station or wherever the others are.”

Liam climbed in, Parrish turned on the lights, and the vans followed him to the edge of the city limits. He pulled over, and once the last van had crossed, he turned off the lights, made a turn, and headed back into town.

…

“I’ve got Gerard in custody,” Sheriff Stilinski said.

Chris sighed. “There’s an option for him. For this woman and the others, however-” He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Do I want to hear this option?”

“I can get him committed to Eichen. I know some of the doctors, and they’ll do it. They’ll keep his access to the outside world heavily restricted. They’ll protect the supernatural patients there from him. But everyone else-”

“No,” the sheriff said. “No. I know, sometimes, involuntary commitment is truly the best thing, both for society and the people being committed. That doesn’t mean I’ve ever felt right seeing it happen, and-”

He groans. “I’ve said this so many times, but there truly does need to be a line. If you want to do this to Gerard, I can sleep letting you. But that woman I have illegally detained, I wrapped my arms around her on that bus full of slaughtered people, so thankful someone survived. I helped carry her to the ambulance, and in the hospital, I held her hand. She’s wrong, I hate what she did, what she tried to do, but I’m not going to keep doing what’s been done to women and little girls like her, Lydia, Meredith, Mrs Martin, and God knows how many others.”

“Then, we need to think of something,” Chris said. “We agree to Gerard being committed. I can’t stop you from just letting her go, but we both know that would be a massive mistake. And don’t forget, sheriff, it’s not just her. Gerard was already recruiting. There are already armed men and women here who can and will kill indiscriminately everyone like Scott and Lydia, and some of them, if some humans such as Melissa get hurt or worse, they’ll chalk it up to acceptable causalities.”

“I’d love a drink,” the sheriff muttered.

“I can sympathise. Should we get one?”

“No.” The sheriff sighed. “Scott isn’t going to like this, but, uh, his dad has a right to know. It’s past time. And the fact he’s FBI might not hurt. For right now, I’m keeping Ms Monroe, and I’m bringing him down here.”

“I’m truly sorry you’ve found yourself involved in all this,” Chris quietly said.

The sheriff gave a wry chuckle. “Hey, you’ve been in this your whole damn life.” Straightening, he continued, “Look- I’m hoping Rafael McCall will react a certain way. But hope is all. I don’t know. If he doesn’t, you don’t want to be caught up in all this. It might be best to get Gerard committed and leave. I truly don’t mean this to hurt, but the fact is, you’ve got nothing left in this town.”

“You’re right that I don’t want to be caught up in this,” Chris replied. “But you’re wrong about the other. All my life, I’ve been taught monster is what you are, not what you do. My daughter forced me to see it was the reverse, and she died for this belief. I’m not going to let her friends, the people she loved, be killed, and I’m not going to let hunters continue going after those she knew, that I know, now, aren’t threats. I’m going to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”

…

The door opened and closed, and Corey appeared in Mason’s bedroom.

“Hey,” Mason greeted. “Well?”

“They’re keeping Ms Monroe for now. She’s- she’s trying to get the deputies on her side, and I think it’s working.”

“Great,” Mason sighed. Going over, he pulled Corey to the bed. “Whether Parrish wants to or not, we need to get him and Sheriff Stilinski to include us more. This concerns us more than it does them.”

He closed his eyes when Corey wrapped around him. “Can you stay the night?”

“Yeah.”

Shifting, he studied Corey’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“Noth-”

“I thought we agreed we weren’t going to be one of those couples who says, ‘Nothing,’ when there is. It’s never worked well for anyone. Aside from our friends, there have been actual studies on the subject!”

Smiling and letting out a small chuckle, Corey linked their hands together. “Do you ever regret getting involved in all this? ‘Cause, I do. You getting involved, I mean. I know that knowing the supernatural is real is a dream come true for you and that you think it’s so cool being part of it in a way, but if it weren’t for Lydia, Sebastian would have killed you. People might hurt you because of us.”

“And where are you and me in this,” Mason asked. “What the Dread Doctors did to you and the others was wrong, but there are benefits, and I like to think that, even if none of it had ever happened, we’d’ve still found our way to each other. I know I still would have wanted you even if you couldn’t turn invisible and didn’t have super-strength. But what about you? Would you have gone for the geeky kid if it wasn’t because I could kind of understand how different you really are?”

“I’ve never thought of you as geeky,” Corey said. “You’re hot and smart and one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. You’re funny, and when it comes to the important stuff, you always try to do the right thing. I’ve wanted a boyfriend like you all my life. But I can’t protect you, Mason. You’ve practically said it yourself. And I don’t want you protecting me. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me. If I’m honest, I don’t want you getting hurt because of any of us, but I get that Liam is your best friend and you feel like you need to help the others.”

Propping himself up on his elbow, Mason looked down at him. Reaching over with his free hand, he traced Corey’s face. “Did I ever tell you about my great-great granduncle, Ezekias Stone?”

Corey shook his head.

“He was a freed slave. He and my great-great grandaunt Emmie Johnson fell in love. She was a white woman. A mob came for them, and he died buying her enough time to get away. She was pregnant with his babies. Twins. Trust me, I don’t want to die, but he wasn’t wrong about how he felt about her, she wasn’t wrong about how she felt about him, and I’m not wrong about how I feel for you.”

Pressing his forehead against Corey’s, he finished, “I’m going to protect you, and we’re going to go off to college together. Wherever Liam goes, he’s always going to be part of our lives. And hopefully, we’ll always be together. If we’re not, though, no, I don’t regret having a werewolf best friend, and I especially don’t regret getting involved with a chameleon chimera. I don’t regret knowing about all this.”

Corey pulled him down for a kiss.

When it broke, he laid down, and Corey wrapped back around him.

…

“Christopher.”

Sighing, Chris turned.

From his cell, Gerard studied him. “War is come, and you’re a soldier without a general. When you fall, I will find my way out, and then, all those wolves, coyotes, foxes, banshees, hellhounds, other monsters, and monster sympathisers won’t be able to run very far. War is come.”

“Yes,” Chris softly agreed. “I know.”

He walked out.           


End file.
